


The Chronicles of Melindra Shadowcorner

by kiwilicious



Category: Prey (Video Game 2017)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Mild Language, Minor Game Spoilers, fatal fortress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-17 05:15:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11844681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiwilicious/pseuds/kiwilicious
Summary: Danielle plays Fatal Fortress for the first time and she is struggling a bit. Thankfully Abigail is more than happy to show her the ropes.





	1. A Budding Romance

**Author's Note:**

> I modeled Fatal Fortress after D&D but I think even if you don't play you'll still be able to follow the story. I really loved the in-game story of the crew unwinding by playing a tabletop RPG and I wanted to flesh out the game and the characters.  
> Fun fact: the bit of the game at the beginning of the story is something that I actually did in my first game of D&D and what happens as a result is also a true story.

"I ask the goblin king to show me his penis. Out of scientific curiosity," Elias proudly declares. He sat with a bunch of coworkers sat around a table, playing Fatal Fortress.

"You already persuaded him to let you pass without a battle, don't be rude to him!" Emma commented.

"Emma, please! I need this!" Elias whined at her. Abigail put her head in her hands and groaned from behind her screen.

"Roll a persuasion check," she replied, resigned. Elias giggles and rolls his 20-sided die. He looked at the number and began laughing maniacally. A natural 20. An automatic success. The rest of the group begins laughing and hollering. Abigail let out a long groan. Elias slides into character as Captain Stabfellow.

"Your Majesty, I know you've already granted us great kindness, but if I may ask one more small favor: will you please remove your pants? It's for . . . science." Abigail sighed and lifted her head back up. She thought for a moment and then grinned. 

"Roll a constitution check." Abigail commanded. Elias rolled and sighed.

"Five."

"Alright. The Goblin King, though confused by your request, complies. As you witness everything his pantslessness has to offer, you are immensely overwhelmed by the sight. Roll a die-4 for damage." Elias glared at her while the rest of the table started giggling. He rolled a small golden pyramid-shaped die, then put his head down on the table.

"Four."

"Fantastic! You take four points of damage from his goblin schwang." Abigail proudly declares as the table busts out laughing. Once they settle down she moves the party on.

"You travel down the cave tunnel and come to a large cavern with a small, glowing river in it. The room is filled with glowing, beautiful plants that light up the dark cave. On the other side of the river you see a figure with long hair and a human torso, but below that is serpentine in nature, kinda like a snake. They stand at the river and appear to be gathering plants. They have not noticed you guys."

"Hordinbaffle readies his staff and prepares for a sneak attack," Zach states and looks at his character sheet, readying for a battle.

"Wait!" Danielle piped up. This was her first time playing so she hadn't participated much, she was just trying to keep up with the other people's decisions. Everybody turned to her.

"Go ahead, Danielle," Abigail softly encouraged her and grabbed her hand under the table and gave it a squeeze.

"What if we . . . I mean, I want try talking to them. Why assume they're hostile? They might be able to help us." Danielle looks at Abigail for affirmation, and is relieved when she just grins at her.

"It's some kind of snake monster! Of course she's not going to help us! Plus you have the lowest charisma of any of us" Elias confidently offered his rebuttal.

"Come on, Elias, let her try it!" Emma replied, wanting Danielle to have fun. Elias threw his hands up in defeat.

"I slowly walks over to the figure and says hello," Danielle hesitantly declares. Abigail perks up in her chair and drops into a husky, slightly sensual voice.

"'Why hello there! I was not expecting a visitor. Especially not one so beautiful.' she says to you. Now that you're closer, you determine that it's a serpent woman who is unarmed but wears the sigil of the rebels against the Kingdom." Abigail incorporated body language while playing her character and really helped to immerse the group. "'Tell me! What is your name?' the snake woman asks you."

"I, uh . . . I am Melindra Shadowcorner. My friends and I are gathering allies in the battle against the Fortress and in overthrowing The Nameless King. We just . . . um . . . we wanted to know if you would help us." Danielle struggled to stay in character, but she made it through. Abigail looks pleased and drops back into character.

"'Pleased to meet you, Melindra! I am Ty'leen of the Sal'kor Clan. I would like to help you, but I have duties to my family that take priority. Though I am sorry to miss out on your company, my dear.' Ty'lee slides closer to you and licks her lips."

"Oh man, Danielle! She is flirting with you hard! Flirt back! Get her to help us!" Elias says while gently kicking her leg under the table.

"What, really? I don't know, man." She replies, nervously. Abigail gives her hand another squeeze.

"Come one, just roll your 20 sided die, then add your charisma modifier," Abigail coached Danielle while pointing on her sheet to where the charisma modifier is. 

"I rolled Eleven, plus one is twelve," Danielle stated. Elias's face showed his disappointment at what he assumed was too low a number. "I grab her hand and whisper into her ear, 'we could, uh, spend a lot more time together if you help us, like sharing a bed at the inn maybe.'" Elias snickered a bit before Abigail smacked his arm and glared at him. "I don't know! This is hard, ok?" Danielle was getting flustered.

"Ty'leen chuckles softly and says to you, 'you're a charming one, aren't you? You're very sweet. I suppose this is a noble cause to fight for, and if you believe in it, then it must be worth it. Alright. I will join your side, and if you give me a little bit of time I can try to convince my family to help the cause too.'" The rest of the group cheers and high fives Danielle. She laughed with sincerity this time and looked at Abigail. They smiled at each other and continued on with the game.

\-- -- -- 

"Alright, it's past midnight and I have an early shift tomorrow. I'm calling it." Abigail stated with a yawn. "Next week we'll pick up there and head to the Fortress." They all start packing up their stuff and say their goodbyes. Danielle stayed behind to help Abigail pack up, since she was the game master and had the most supplies. They packed up stacks of binders, notebooks, and hardcover books with glorious illustrations of mages and warriors striking dramatic poses on the front. Danielle inspected a book of monsters and flipped it open to a bookmarked page. On the page was snake person, just like Ty'leen.

"Wait, she actually was a monster?" Danielle asked. "Then why did you let me talk to her?" Abigail stopped packing and looked Danielle in the eyes.

"Because I like to reward players for thinking outside the box and not just assuming what the right path is. Plus you were finally participating and I didn't want to shut down your idea." Abigail put her hand on Danielle's arm. "I just wanted you to have fun."

"Oh. Well, thanks, I guess." Danielle shyly looked away, then met her gaze again. "But wait, if we were supposed to fight her then where did that whole backstory come from?" 

"A good game master can think on her feet," Abigail proudly replied and perked up.

"Damn! You just made that up on the spot? You're a Fatal Fortress goddess." Danielle praised with a little bow as Abigail laughed. Danielle stood back up and realized that she had gotten very close to Abigail. She slid away a bit and laughed nervously.

"Do you think you want to play with us again next week?" Abigail asked while returning to packing up her materials. Danielle thought for a bit and resumed packing as well.

"Yeah. I mean it was fun. You'd still have to help me though." Abigail laughed and nodded. Danielle finally got all the books to fit in the backpack. With a final zip on the duffle bag, the packing was complete. 

"Now we get to take it all next week," Abigail mentioned. Danielle chuckle and their eyes met. They both became aware of how close they were standing.

"Thank you for inviting me. And for helping me because I suck and I need the help." Danielle said in a quiet, gravely voice." Abigail grabbed Danielle's hands and laced their fingers together.

"Not a problem. I quite enjoy the company." They both smiled. After a moment they both lean in and share a short, but deep and passionate kiss. When they pull apart they both giggle a little bit and press their foreheads together.

"If you want I can show you a few pointers. Maybe give you a sneak peak at what I have planned for next week." Abigail whispered. Danielle gave her a small kiss on the forehead and the two of them walked back to her cabin, hand in hand.


	2. The Kiss of Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In an attempt to get Danielle comfortable with playing Fatal Fortress, Abigail sets up a one-on-one game with her in her room.

"You're doing great, Danielle. Are you feeling more comfortable with the rules?" Abigail asked, giving her a kiss on the cheek as encouragement. Both of them were sitting on Abigail's bed, with game notes spread out across the sheets and glasses of wine on the nightstands. A small, hand drawn map with x's and notes scribbled on it lay between them. Danielle looks at her character sheet and frowns.

"I guess. It's just a lot to remember. I hate being on the spot like this," Danielle answered before sipping on her wine. Abigail typed a few notes on her TranScribe, then looked up at Danielle.

"Don't worry about remembering all the small details. That's what I'm here for. You just have to play your character and get into her head." Abigail smiled. Danielle chuckled, grabbed her dice, and took a deep breath.

"I'm ready. Let's go." Danielle cracked a big grin. 

"Alright. You continue walking through the dense forest in your search for the powerful necromancer Samrial. You stumble across a small cottage covered in ivy. A small stone tower protrudes out the top. Roll a perception check." Danielle complies. It's a fifteen. "You notice that the vegetation surrounding this cottage is much more dense and varied in type then the rest of this forest. It's definitely magical. What do you want to do? You can knock on the door, investigate the outside some more, break in if you feel like, or if you can think of something else definitely try it. You can even ignore it and leave if you want. There is no wrong answer." Danielle sits and ponders for a moment.

"I want to walk the perimeter of the house and investigate. See if there is anything else of note." Danielle answers decisively. Abigail grinned at her enthusiasm.

"Roll an investigation check." She gets a thirteen. "You notices that in addition to the flora surrounding the house, there is a small garden plot in the back with large healthy vegetables and fruits. There is also a large coop with a few domesticated birds in it, chirping excitedly at your presence. The coop is almost as big as the house itself. What now?"

"Ummm . . . Could I sneakily look in the window? Without being seen?" Danielle inquires.

"You can try. Roll for stealth." 

"Oooh! 20!" Danielle shouted maybe a bit too loud. She started cackling for a bit before people in the cabins next door start banging on the walls in protest. Danielle quiets down but starts snickering quietly. "Yeah Abby, keep it down." Abigail rolled her eyes.

"Alright. You stealthily go to every window and peek in without being seen or heard. Even the birds stop reacting to your presence. Inside the walls are covered with shelves containing many books and a wide variety of crystals. The books you can see seem to be spell books for life and nature magicks. There is also a pantry stocked with many different herbs. Roll an arcana check?" She rolls twelve. "There are runes on the walls. You figure that they are protection and warding runes, though you can't be sure. Suddenly a tall, very attractive man comes into the garden and investigates the birds. The birds start making lots of noise. He has long, black hair and very pale skin, and is wearing black pants with no shirt. He's got abs for days. For days, Danielle. What do you want to do now?" Danielle gnawed on her pen.

"Is there anything off about him that I notice?" Danielle inquired.

"Make a perception check." Abigail tried to hide her pride at Danielle's ideas. Danielle rolls and then drops her head in her hands and groans. Abigail peeked at the die. It showed a two. "Add your modifier and that's five. Okay. You notice that his pants are really ugly" That makes Danielle chuckle. "The man plucks a tomato off of a vine and just takes a bite straight out of it. Then he heads back inside".

"This is risky, but I want to try to sneak inside." Danielle is leaned forward and very invested. "Should I roll stealth again?" Abigail nodded, and Danielle rolled a ten. 

"You slide in through the window when he has his back turned. You get through alright and hide behind a bookcase, but you knock a book off of a table in the process. The man doesn't look in your direction, but instead to a closed door behind him.

"Alright. I want to sneak attack him. Big ol' backstab." Danielle stated, extremely sure of herself. Abigail's raised her eyebrows. She was trying to hide her pride.

"Roll one more stealth check to see if you can approach him undetected." Danielle rolls. Adding her modifier it ended up being 22. She high fives Abigail. "Now roll to see if your attack hits." Danielle gives her 20 sided die a kiss before rolling. She watched as it landed on a natural 20. An automatic critical hit. Danielle gasped and stared at the die as Abigail laughed and wrapped her arms around Danielle. After a moment of silence Danielle whispered "fuck yeah" at the die and turned and kissed Abigail in her excitement. She turned back and started reading the description of her dagger, seeing what she needed to roll for damage. She grabbed a six sided die and rolled a five on it. Abigail reminded her to add her proficiency bonus, the bonus for a surprise attack, and the critical hit from the natural 20. After some math, Danielle drops her jaw. 

"Thirty-five damage!" She shouted. Abigail subtracted the damage from the man's health and giggles.

"Alright. You stab him right between the shoulder blades, and he begins shrieking in pain. Suddenly large, bat-like wings sprout from his back and long claws stab out of his fingers. He whips around and his eyes have turned blood red. Now roll for initiative! It's going down!" Abigail bounces a little bit, filled with glee. Danielle rolled nine. Abigail rolls a couple times "Okay, he's going first. He tries to claw you, but he misses. He then flies across the house. Now it's your turn."

"Okay. I use my poison dart on him." She rolls a nine. A miss.

"Okay. I'll need you to roll a wisdom saving throw." Danielle got 16. "Okay. He stares deep into your eyes. You can feel him penetrating your mind for a bit, trying to take control, but you shake him off. Upon failing to charm you, he shrieks and flies over at you and pins you to the wall. You can use this opportunity to do a bonus attack to him, but you're at a disadvantage. Go ahead and roll." Abigail could feel Danielle tense up as she rolled, but as the die landed and showed another 20, Danielle cheered. "Okay but remember you're at a disadvantage so you need to roll again and take the lower roll." Abigail reminded her, and Danielle gave her a playful punch on the shoulder. Roll number two shows a 16. A hit.

"How's that, Abby? Am I a Fatal Fortress master or what?" Danielle laughed before kissing Abigail on the nose.

"You're a goddess, Danielle, now roll for damage." Danielle rolled four, plus her proficiency bonus gives her seven damage. "Okay babe: you get to choose how you kill him. Make it super cool or I'll judge you."

"Fuck yeah! How's this, Abby: while he has me pinned I give him a quick stab in the gut, then shove him away, then I do a flying leap onto him and stab him straight through the throat. He collapses and I'm kneeling on his chest. Then I pull my dagger out, raise it above my head, and send it straight through his eye. Now he's a dead motherfucker." Danielle looked at Abigail, sitting there with a huge grin on her face.

"Babe, you nailed it. You are more than ready to play with the rest of the group. Now let's finish this. Now that he's dead, you hear a muffled voice coming from the other room. You open the door to find a woman gagged and tied to the bed. She's still clothed, thankfully."

"I free her and check her over, make sure she's okay." replied Danielle.

"The woman sits up and thanks you. Now that you have a chance to really look at her, you see that she has very pale skin and messy chin-length hair. Two horns poke out of her mop of hair. She's wearing all black, ratty robes and her eyes are almost completely white. She doesn't make eye contact with you, and you deduce that she might be blind." Abigail changed her voice to a slightly higher pitch, and speech pattern became erratic and scattered. "'Thanks for, um, saving me, although, no offense, why are you here exactly?"

"'I was passing through trying to find the necromancer Samrial when I stumbled upon your cottage. I sensed something was wrong when your birds seemed to hate him. Plus he just took a bite straight out of a tomato, which is definitely NOT normal. I don't know, everything just felt wrong to me. What happened, anyway? How did you get in this position?" Danielle said while getting into character with a huskier voice.

"'Well he just showed up a few days ago and immediately started flirting with me and I was getting really uncomfortable and after a while I told him that I wasn't into men, and that if he didn't need anything he should go. Then he grabs me and puts his face really close to mine. I think he was trying to charm me, but that didn't go so well.' she waves her hand in front of her face as she says this, implying that she is, in fact, blind. She goes on and says "I figured that he must have been an incubus, and when he couldn't control me he became furious and attacked me, knocking me out and tying me up. I don't even want to know what he had planned for me.'"

"I gently put my hand on her shoulder and say "you're safe now'" Danielle says softly, while leaning closer to Abigail.

"'Well, um, thank you, kind stranger. Can I ask your name?" Abigail finds herself being pulled in toward Danielle as she responds.

"I am Melindra. What is your name?" Danielle's voice became soft.

"I-I'm, uh, Helatia." Abigail barely finished saying the name before Danielle tackled her and started kissing her. Abigail melted into her embrace and ran her hand through Danielle's hair. They pulled back a bit and stared into each other's eyes. Abigail swept the papers off of the bed as Danielle began sliding her top off. Then, with a click, turned off the lights.


End file.
